shoes

Stopped by my dealer today and was told two interesting items about the CLS:

1. There will be no CLS 350 for the US, just the CLS500 to start.
2. Euro delivery is possible beginning April on a "special" basis (meaning VIP orders and no discount).

Tezta

Can you get a car via euro delivery before they are normally shipped to dealerships in the US?

marc777

Do you get the 320CDI?

In the UK we are getting the 320CDI and the 350

No 500 at first I believe.

Marc

shoes

The ONLY car we will get at launch is the CLS500, no diesels (they would never offer that combination here, we only get one diesel in one model). The Euro delivery availability date of April, means the car won't get back to the US until June- I believe this is after the US lauch of the car which I would estimate to be March, 2005.

VBD

What 320CDI? I have not seen or heard any mention of a 320CDI in any of the official documentation as yet. The only models that are listed in the brochures and the DC internal documentation are the CLS320, CLS500 and CLS55AMG.

I have heard that the 350 could be a possibility in the US late 2005 early 2006, but deffo the 500 to start with. In the UK I have been told that we will be getting all models as per the rest of Europe but as a phased approach as per the SLK model recently introduced. The CLS55AMG will be the last model introduced.

marc777

Checked with the dealer and release in June 05 for the CDI

Stiggs

Check out the October 2004 issue of Car and Driver....no CLS350. Only the CLS500 to start.

Otto

the real reasons are

1. both CLS350 and CLS500 have 7G-TRONIC
2. CLS 500(306 hp) only 34 horse power more than CLS350 (272 hp) and 0 to 100 km/h CLS500 (6.1 seconds) vs CLS350 (7.0 seconds)
3. there are no big differences between these 2 models except engine.

To avoid CLS350 taking away CLS500 customers. mbusa makes a decision for us again.

shoes

My dealer received the order guide for the CLS and both the CLS500 and CLS55 are shown as available to order right off the bat.

northbenz

My dealer said the CLS500 was planned to be available in the US this year, but that latest word he had was that it had been delayed to spring. This may explain why orders might have been taken already.

E55 KEV

this from thecarconnection.com today:

"Benz CLS Arrives in January

The sleek-bodied 2006 Benz CLS 500 will arrive in the U.S. in January of 2005 wearing a pricetag between that of the similar E-Class sedan and the range-topping S-Class - roughly the low to mid-$60,000 range, Mercedes-Benz USA execs said at the launch of the vehicle prior to the Paris auto show. However, the low-volume "four-door coupe" won't be coming over with all-wheel drive or with a six-cylinder version, at least not for now. The AWD option is definitely off the radar - at a worldwide total of 30,000 units planned each year, 10,000 destined for the States, the volumes aren't there to justify the addition. However, a V-6 version with a lower bottom line is expected since it's already offered in other markets. A 476-hp AMG version, the CLS55, arrives in February."

shoes

My dealer told me the order guide for the CLS500 and CLS55 arrived yesterday although pricing has not been announced in the US. Four interior color choices in two grades of leather: ash, charcoal, cashmere beige and red. The red interior is not available for the AMG version but the other three are. Wood choices are either high gloss burl or matt laurel. Options and packages very similar to E Class although somewhat simplified. Premium package covers most of the coveted options. Exterior colors also resemble the E Class with a few less choices (no flint, for example and no designo colors to start).

c2jones

Shoes, I'm curious as to whether your "source" has chimmed in on this.

For that matter, have I missed your explanation of what was the problem with your source's overall information, especially on the E65 bit?

Remember this?

"There will never be an E65

"I am quoting from an email I received today from one of the product people in Germany at AMG- "there will never be an E65"- very Germanic and direct.

"My source

"Without naming names, my source is a high level manager who works at AMG in Germany, so I trust the information I posted."

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...&highlight=E65

Now that the car is official, have you probed your source as to what happened?

I tried to get more information on this way back then...

shoes

I stand by my original statement- there will never be an E65 or a CLK65. The story from the Swedish magazine does not controvert my statement since they were just speculating and my information is from a high level AMG official.

Has there ever been a factory V12 E Class?

c2jones

Shoes:

All reports indicate that in fact there will be an E65 (and a CLK65).

I would respectfully disagree with you here. The statement is indeed controverted completely as, the "source" you base your statement upon was not speculating whatsoever, at least within the content that you originally proposed. "There will never be an E65" is a definitive statement. This statement is simply incorrect. Coming from "a high level AMG official" did not and does authenticate anything, given that if their words were as definitive as you've stated, there would seem to be an overisight of magnitude somewhere.

It is peculiar that "a high level AMG official" would even make such a statement when reports were leaking from everywhere (even then) that in fact the car (E65) was to be a reality.

"The story from the Swedish magazine" would seem to require some better quality control from their editors. Nevertheless, this "Swedish magazine" should have had updates which revisted their former erroneous information long by now. I'm surprised you have not offered this to counter your former delivery of their misaligned statements. This would seem to me to be the preferred option rather than claiming their statements were mere "speculation" and that your statement was therefore not "controverted."

Finally...

And? Not sure what you're levying here. Whether there is a foregoing application or not is simply not a barometer of future production in anyway. Moreover, what MB decides to power the car with has no bearing upon what they will title or classify the car to be. In this case it appears that a V8 will be the powerplant. Does this bar MB from calling it an E65 upon their discretion?

Sources state that the V12's have been less than reliable. (Ask any MB Service Writer.) Therefore, MB going with a more compact, efficient and perhaps dependable V8 is an AMG move which in no way hinders their labeling.

shoes

The intent of my statement is that AMG will not be installing the current 6.0 liter twin turbo V12 in the E Class to make an E65 equivalent to the current CL65. Of course, there is a new normally aspirated V8 that is supposedly called the E63 that is on the horizon and I am convinced that the Swedish magazine mistakenly referred to this as the E65.

c2jones

Are we arguing? Seems like a typical (articulate and intelligent) discussion to me. That's one of the purposes of this forum; to share insights, observations and opinions. I am unware of any forum (or any social function) where all participants harmonize completely with each other's thoughts. No call to perceive more than what's here.

The discussion is over clarification and an interest in a revisited response from this (or any) "high level AMG official" who could mistate something to this degree, as originally expressed and maintained. The only reason there is an ongoing elongation of the specific is because of the choice you made to offer (what I perceive as) deflective and inapplicable countermeasures, respectfully.

It appears that now, you wish to lobby as defense mechanism for the "high level AMG official" who really meant to say that 'there will never be a V12 E-Class' or the like. A mistake by the "Swedish magazine" would only account for a transposing of classifications, nothing more. I find it perplexing that any AMG official could say that "there will never be an E65," when in fact he meant that there will never be an 'E63' or never a 'E V12' instead. This seems at variance with reality and again, as per the original premise, I suspect that this source and its quoters were speaking well out of turn.

I was curious about their revised statements, duly expected. To date, you have not offered such revisions, and instead, choose to supply words and explanations for them. Do you have a subscription to this publication? If not, and it was just something you glanced by chance, this *might* begin to shed light on what happened.

In summary, when Autospies (Star, or anyone else) leaks a rumor of an upcoming car, it seems there is a quick reaction to discount these assertions with counter statements from 'reliable sources from reliable places' that in the end, prove no more reliable than the originating report. Food for thought. That's all.

shoes

Sorry, all the hurricanes have made it hard to understand you.

How about this- if there is an E65 made in the next two years by AMG, I owe you a nice bottle of wine (which I will charge to my AMG source) and if there isn't you owe me some nice stone crabs.

c2jones

Just WHO is having issues of incoherence?

Simply read your assertions, bactracking and deflections.

Really? Well, make a note of the date (9.30.04), save this posting (I will) and let's see about this. Not much of a wine person and I don't mind springing for crabs, but I'd settle for an adherence to clarification (not deflections) of these touted "official AMG sources."

Do these 'insiders' have linkage with those whom provide information to The Star magazine, The Mercedes-Benz Club of America publication? Appears not.